Time Stream
by silvre
Summary: AU Days after Harry Potter went missing or died, a little boy was named André. No one had ever considered not telling André about his origins, they never dreamed of keeping the truth from him. So, André grew up fully knowing, yet oblivious to who he was.
1. Chapter 1: Gates

Time Stream

Disclaimer: This author does not own anything pertaining to Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter One: Gates

* * *

In the quiet night streets of London, Ben Allen walked purposefully up and down the lanes, brandishing his flashlight. Ben was a policeman, and like all self-respecting policemen he rather resented being put on night watch. After all, there were all sorts of strange people wandering the streets at night. 

Ben sighed and tugged at his itchy cap and quite suddenly, his eye caught a shadow on one of the flickering street lamps. He squinted and peered curiously at the shadow; the shape looked suspiciously like a human figure, seated quite at ease on the nine and a half feet high lamppost.

As he approached, the distinct outline of a head, two arms, and a pair of swinging legs came into focus. Ben's eyebrows drifted dangerously towards his hairline. It was a _child_ swinging its slipper-clad feet gently to the breeze.

"Oy, you there! What are you doing on a lamppost? That's government property it is!" The child's face, obscured by shadow, turned towards the somewhat perplexed policeman.

"My brother will be here soon, will you tell me if you can see him anywhere?" Ben frowned, the lilting, very obviously young voice wasn't the least bit frightened at being nearly ten feet off the ground or being questioned by a police officer.

Nevertheless, Ben dutifully peered around at the shadows, searching for another sign of human presence. When his search yielded nothing, he turned back towards the occupied lamppost, but the child had vanished.

"Eh? Hello? You still there?" When no one answered, Ben shrugged and walked away, muttering about lack of tea and funny hallucinations.

* * *

Fifty-five miles away, a slipper-clad child laughed her delight as she skipped up the steps to her home. On the top of the stairs a boy with black and gold eyes caught the child's hand. She stopped in mid-giggle and immediately arranged her face in what she knew to be a somber expression. 

"Do you want to _die_?" The boy hissed, his disapproval emanating from him like a cloud. The child said nothing, her face downcast.

"_Look at me!_" Without delay, she raised her eyes to his. "I ordered you not to step out of the estate's wards, and now I find you have not only disobeyed my word, but also unnecessarily endangered your own life. And wandering the filthy and dangerous streets of London no less!"

The boy never once raised the volume of his voice but it was obvious he did not need to. To her credit, the child did not burst into tears or beg for forgiveness at the cold piercing gaze. The boy's eyes narrowed.

"Do you want _André_ to follow your example? You may be able to protect yourself but he certainly cannot!" That did it, the child's shoulders dropped in defeat, and she whispered,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put André in danger! I really didn't!" At the sound of his name, a tiny figure that had just stepped out of the house raced towards the pair.

The figure was a little boy, perhaps seven or eight years-old, with jet-black hair, emerald green almond-shaped eyes, and a fading, almost invisible lightning shaped cut on his forehead. He skidded to a halt and said,

"Seth told me to tell you 'Get your princely arse, as the English would say, here right now, Raine needs to go in two hours. And Lan? Punishment for stepping out of the estate boundaries: you are going to have etiquette review lessons for three months.'" The black and gold-eyed boy frowned at the use of the word "arse" while Lan let out a sound of despair at the mention of etiquette lessons.

The little boy André, oblivious to their reactions, grabbed the Lan's other hand and tugged the two towards the main house.

* * *

That night in Godric's Hollow, James and Lily Potter sat together on the red armchairs, mourning the sixth year anniversary of their son's absence or, they did not even want to _think _about it, death. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin sat opposite, their expressions of regret and sorrow were mirrored. 

"If only we had not pushed the spell so hard… then maybe we would have found him..." Lily whispered, her face crumpled in misery. James put an arm around her shoulders in comfort as the silence outside resurrected memories better off forgotten.

* * *

The boy with black and gold eyes sat with a quiet smile on his face. It was difficult to tell his age, one could only assume, maybe in between seventeen and twenty-one? It was preposterously hard to come to a decision. His face was angular, androgynous, and unnaturally pale, almost paper-white. He was thin, delicate and looked ridiculously breakable, just like everyone else in the room. 

The room itself was ostentatious enough with it's pale blue walls, blood-red furniture and carpets, black marble flooring and ornaments. It had a high ceiling with carvings adorning the edges.

Presently the boy was contemplating. André had heard his name all the way from the front door, which meant the transfusion was working more quickly than he had expected. All the better, the sooner it was complete, the sooner he would truly be in the family. His attention was drawn away by a snippet of a conversation from his left.

"We cannot stay out of it much longer."

"That madman is getting too bold."

"Must we enter an alliance though?"

"We might not have a choice, the treaty will be broken either way."

The whispered conversation of Seth and his younger brother Raine reached his ears. Seth caught his look; both his and his brother's faces were tense with annoyance.

"Prince Michaël, what do you propose we do?" Michaël brushed a strand of hair from his eyes as he replied calmly,

"I am also a bit wary about current situations, so I went to see Marie not long before the two of you arrived. She advised us not to take action for at least seven more years. However, she also mentioned the Gates of Babylon, she has seen that they will open and interfere at around the same time for the first time in over two millennia." Raine's usually perfectly calm face twisted angrily.

"Damn, and Marie is always right for events of this magnitude, and the Gates are completely out of our control. That also means things definitely aren't going to improve here, I propose we all move to France and stay together for the time being. Lan and André will be safer there." The three turned towards the Lan who was entertaining little André with baubles of light on the deep red carpet. Seth grimaced.

"When was the last time the Gates of Babylon interfered?"

"I believe it was even before Father's time, during the first Imperial Massacre. They Gates only open when things get completely out of hand, and since dear Marie has seen them open, I strongly advocate our immediate relocation."

"I agree, but we wait until André is better prepared." Michaël gave a nod of approval.

"Then it is decided, we will alert the Main Houses tonight." Raine said softly as he stood in one fluid motion.

"I take my leave." He inclined his head toward his brother and prince, ruffled André's hair, and kissed his sister's cheek before striding from the room.

Michaël leaned back in his chair.

_The Gates are opening in seven years time, why have they chosen to interfere…?_

* * *

Seven Years Later

* * *

In a different life, and time, Harry Potter and his best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley had just gotten off the Hogwarts Express, and were preparing to begin their sixth year at the school. As the three were trudging towards the carriages through the stormy weather, all the students glanced up to see bolts of lightning that flashed across the sky. 

Hermione and Ron were concerned for their friend, he was, understandably still gloomy and depressed looking following the death of Sirius. They tried their best to distract him, Ron telling him stories about his brothers, Hermione rattling on about the new books she had read. It seemed to be working at least a little bit.

Harry grinned a little at Ron's flailing gesture of "And his nose grew _this_ big…" He was grateful that they weren't prying about Sirius and was just about to respond to Hermione's inquisitive "I do hope you have studied a bid this summer haven't you Harry?" When the bolts of lightning once again lit up the sky.

Two white hot blades cracked deafeningly right beside Harry, right where Ron and Hermione were, and just like that, his two best friends were gone.

* * *

Many many miles away, Remus Lupin had been taking a stroll around the neighborhood, lost in thought, when he heard a voice shouting at him to move. He jerked out of his stupor and glanced around, catching sight of lightning just as it struck and whisked him away.

* * *

It was dark and grey here, just like it was dark and grey on the other side over there, Sirius Black was drifting slowly through the darkness feeling completely miserable and bored when a similar flash of light enveloped his form and drew him away from the monotonous landscape.

* * *

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley felt as though they were being siphoned through an endless tunnel as cold air whipped their faces and hands when suddenly, it all stopped. Hermione dropped onto the living room floor of her house just as Ron was deposited onto his bed in the Burrow. Unconsciousness for both was immediate. 

Remus Lupin materialized on the kitchen floor of a cottage in a similar state, while Sirius Black fell in a garden of azaleas outside the cottage.

* * *

Somewhere, in a nameless, intangible place, there was the sound of gates creaking shut.

* * *

A/N: I hope you have enjoyed or are at least somewhat interested in Time Stream. 

And of course, any reviews are much appreciated!

- Thanks


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

Time Stream

Disclaimer: This author does not own anything pertaining to Harry Potter but the author _does _own all the characters not in the Harry Potter world

* * *

Chapter Two: Awakening

* * *

Seven years had passed since the day Lan Ishtar had been caught outside ward boundaries by Michaël, seven years since the day it was decided that they would move to France, and seven years since André had been seven years-old. 

André de Medici was, by human terms, no longer a little boy (though his family would say otherwise), and he bore a suspiciously strong resemblance to his beloved foster family. For one, his face no longer carried the scar that had once been on his forehead, and it was now narrow, pale, with the same piercing emerald green eyes he had been born with. His figure was quite small, which was not unusual for de Medicis or Ishtars, and he had acquired the feeling of "I'm-Going-To-Shatter-Into-a-Million-Pieces-if-I-Fall-Over" which was exuded by just about everyone in the family.

André's fingers flew across the keys of the all too familiar instrument, effortlessly gliding through the complex cadenzas and scales. Of course, being a foster child of not only the de Medici _and _Ishtar family meant Music Lessons with Liam de Medici at the age of three, Dance and Etiquette with Solon Ishtar at the age of three and a half, Magical Theory and eventually actual Magic at age four under Rinyuu Ishtar, Languages also at age four with Myriam de Medici, and many more that made up his daily schedule.

And so, now at the age of 16, after living and being surrounded by the de Medicis and Ishtars for over a decade and a half, André was truly and irrevocably one of them.

* * *

André de Medici was a smart boy. Ever since he was a baby he had been surrounded by people. As he grew into a toddler, his toddler mind could not understand why Michaël was unnaturally graceful, why Lan was particularly beautiful, why both Raine and Seth too looked so_ different_ compared to him and other people for that matter. In fact, everyone around him seemed unreal and perfect. 

His little four year-old mind would have fallen for it too, that glittering, shining, flawless illusion that had enraptured, for example the mailman from last week, so many had he not known that Lan could be hopelessly careless and that it drove Michaël spare, that Raine liked to ditch his lessons because he found them irritating and boring, and Seth loved giving his guards the slip so he could sneak out to chase butterflies.

Yet even knowing they too had flaws and quirks like everyone else did not change the fact that they still seemed so much _better_ than, say, the mailman from last week, as though they stood miles above the rest of the population. Even Lele, who would serve the Ishtars forever, and her name never with a "Lady" at the beginning of it, appeared to subconsciously turn her nose up at anyone who was not _them._

And so, though he never felt any of those almost imperceptible contemptuous expressions from any of _them_ directed at him, André de Medici still felt different, but at least his four year-old mind had been given hope that one day by his Magical Theory teacher.

* * *

"_Rinyuu… why don't I look like Lan or Michaël or you? Michaël is Prince right? He can_ make_ me look like everyone else!"_

"_Do you remember Young Master? When we told you how we found you."_

"_Uh huh, I remember, you told me I appeared in the dining hall with a flash of light when everyone was having lunch and Michaël caught me, and Lan said I was special, so I should stay. You said that no one could find my real mum and dad, but it's okay cause I should never forget that you, Michaël, Raine, Lan, Seth and everyone else all care about me."_

"_Yes and you have changed already! See? Look in a mirror, their magic is making you look more like us everyday."_

"_But why can't it go faster?"_

"_It can only go so far in this way, but do you wish to know a little secret Master André?"_

"_Uh huh…"_

"_I heard the Prince and Ms. Lan talking about you in the Meeting Room, and with_ everyone_ there, I believe that they are seriously considering the option of completely adopting you__."_

"_Really?? Wow… thank you for telling me Rinyuu!"_

"_My, your eyes are so big! Is it that surprising we want to keep you forever?" Rinyuu laughed as André sprinted down the corridors, no doubt to interrogate someone about the conclusion of the meeting.  
_

* * *

Rinyuu was strictly speaking, a de Medici, but he was so distantly related to Prince Michaël, and the Blood of Origin had run so thin that his status was not high enough that he could easily get away with dancing around the halls in his underpants… not that he'd even _consider _dancing anywhere in his underpants in the first place. 

But he did not have a drop of _carine_ blood in his veins, and combined with his rather unique magical talents meant that his name still carried the de Medici weight and prestige at the end of it. Thus, it was unlikely that he would be used as a knife sharpener whenever he toed or, god forbid, stepped over the line.

Rinyuu's responsibilities in this generation were the same as it had been in all his lives: to educate and refine the talents of the Main Bloodline, and really anyone else he was ordered to by people of said bloodline. That is where his unique talents came into use.

Rinyuu was currently reminiscing, he could remember the day in perfect detail, the day André had dropped from the ceiling, no larger than a baguette. It was just as he had described; everyone had been having lunch when a brilliant glow of obviously magical light erupted from near the high ceiling and a bundle had materialized from the supernatural afterglow had started to fall.

A tiny green-eyed baby with a bleeding cut on his forehead entered their lives that day. It was healthy, Seth and Raine had said, for everyone, but especially Lan. Lan at that time had been so dangerously dependent on Michaël she could barely survive half-an hour out of his presence.

As the weeks turned into months, it was apparent that André _was _good for everyone. Life seemed to become both more exciting and stable with the little baby. Michaël's self-control improved dramatically (things no longer spontaneously combusted every time he was hacked off) since now he had to be careful of damaging the baby, Lan became less zombie-like (she was _smiling_, and disobeying direct orders for heaven's sake), Seth snuck out less (this pleased his teachers a great deal as they no longer dreaded having to explain to Raine about how they had lost his brother… again), and things were really looking up.

No one had ever considered not telling André about his origins, they wouldn't dream of keeping the truth from him. So André grew up fully knowing exactly why he was different, but it was obvious that he had come to resent that chasm that kept him from feeling like he belonged.

Personally, Rinyuu could feel that André would not be going to be dumped at an orphanage anytime soon. He could feel magic developing within him, and he knew Lan would probably accidentally blow up half the house in rage (again) if someone tried to get rid of him.

Besides, why else would the Prince bother subjecting a child he was just going to get rid of to daily refining lessons with Liam the moment he was able to stand?

* * *

It had been difficult. They had thought it was impossible to really adopt André, but as usual, with the combined brilliant minds of both Naren and Adonis, both family's genii, it had been done. From the moment they had decided to keep him, ever increasing quantities of Michaël and Lan's blood was added to his milk every meal. Combined with gradually decreasing amounts of blood from everyone else in the Main Bloodline in his food would hopefully eventually give André a tentative, weak immunity. 

The proportions were very precisely calculated, as one incorrect amount of any person's blood would be fatal. The immunity that he built up, though weak because it would take decades for a strong immunity to be established in this way, was hypothesized to be able to keep André alive long enough in order for the change to take place. Of course, this required more work to factor in André's own magical core.

When he was about to turn nine, the immunity had finally been built strong enough, and André's magic had matured adequately. He had been taken aside, and asked very seriously if he wanted to live with them forever. Naturally, of course he would want to stay with the people who had taken care of him for as long as he could remember, because of this influence, they were still hesitant to change him.

On his birthday, he had wished to be like Michaël, like Lan, like Liam, Rinyuu, Raine, Seth, Solon, Myriam, and everyone else he knew. The next day he was sat down and the final decision was made.

* * *

"… _Michaël… why did Lele wake me up and five in the morning?? I don't have lessons until seven!!"_

"_We're all here to discuss your wish, André."_

"_You told us you really want to be with us forever, do you completely understand what you mean for us to do?" Lan was calm, stoic, and deadly serious, wearing her "I-Am-To-Be-Last-Empress-Disobey-and-Fear-the-Consequences" face._

"_Do you understand that it will hurt every time you see a friend who is not one of us die from old age? That you won't ever be able to relate to your own kind fully? That someday you might get bored with life and be unable to end it?" Here Rinyuu interrupted under his breath in attempt to lighten the rapidly turning sombre mood._

"_And don't forget you might have Liam tailing you for the rest of your lengthy life telling you off for not walking right. And you can't be within fifty feet of _carine_ without feeling completely ill. And-"_

"_Rinyuu, be quiet. André, you will be different from everyone else, and there will be, I guarantee you, several attempts on your life."_

"_Why are you asking me this? I know all this, I see it everyday! I know it is what I want." Lan stared straight in his eyes as she said,_

"_Are you completely sure? You will not regret it? By next week it will be too late to reverse the change." She purposely left out the fact that it was actually already too late to remove the, by now, enormous quantities of blood he had consumed. _

"_Yes, I'm sure. I… don't want to die, not if it means I won't see any of you for a long time… I want to be with you, all of you, forever." Lan broke into a smile as the previously silent crowd surged forward, hugging the small boy in celebration, and Lan tackled Michaël to the ground as she whispered in his ear._

"_I told you, I told you he would!"_

* * *

Adonis had once told him that the spell traces on him when he had dropped in their living room had been a hybrid banishing, relocating, restricting, and tracking spell. Apparently it was the restricting that was most puzzling since it stopped even Adonis and Naren from being able to track where the spell was originally cast. However, the tracking had been corrupted by an unknown someone's power, which meant the people who preformed the spell would have no means of tracking him, and the banishing and relocating part had been pushed so hard, by the looks of it the combined full magical energy of at least three extremely powerful magical people, that it had pushed his baby-self right through the supposedly impenetrable wards. 

Naren had said that at the very least, new warding upgrades were discovered through this incident. André, though young, deduced that it was very possible that the spell, which was evidently the creation of a very talented charms master or mistress, had been used to send him to safety, but secretly he hoped that it was because he had been unwanted. If it was the second case, he wouldn't feel the occasional twinges of guilt that surfaced when he thought about his perfect life with his currently, in his opinion, perfect family.

Besides, so what if his parents might not have wanted him? What did it matter when finally, his wish for so long had come true. To André, everything for over a month might have been a blur after that five am meeting, but all of a sudden, he could see the drastic changes taking place and he couldn't imagine himself happier.

* * *

André's slender fingers stilled as he heard the unmistakable sound of the door open. A moment later, Lan entered and peered over his shoulder. 

"Practicing again? How long did Liam sentence you anyways?" He could have sworn there was the undertone of amusement colouring her voice as he turned around and smirked at her just washed soggy hair dripping all over the impeccable floors. He could almost hear the less-than-manly shriek Liam would emit at the sight.

"And you? Dancing for I gather at least nine hours judging by your less than usual grace. So, how much dance did Solon sentence _you _to?" Lan threw him an annoyed sneer as she shifted her posture for what had to be the fourth time during their two sentence exchange.

"Well you try walking "like a lady" after this!" Here she made a sweeping gesture unsuccessfully hiding a wince as it further agitated her sore arm muscles. "'Like a lady', god I swear Liam really needs to put things in perspective sometimes…" André smiled, no matter how grueling a day he had, it couldn't compare to what Lan and Michaël were put through daily to prepare for their "future roles". It made him feel wonderfully unstressed and relaxed when comparing his relatively normal eighteen hour schedule with Lan's sometimes twenty-four hour ones or Michaël's constant twenty-four hours with no sleep for who knows how long.

"So, what are you here for? I assume you didn't just drop in to allow me to taunt you about your current… state." At this point Lan gave up and after glancing around to make sure Liam was no where in sight, dropped on the piano bench in a boneless heap, but when she answered, all traces of amusement were void from her expression.

"Yes you're right. Prince Michaël is calling a meeting to discuss the contents of a letter he received this morning."

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, Hermione Granger was waking up, she could here the soft voices of conversation. 

"Oh god oh god, why isn't she waking up? What on earth happened?"

"Shh, I don't know, I got back from the office and I just found her lying in the living room unconscious!"

"Hermione dear, please wake up now, please be okay!" Hermione forced her exhausted mind to wake up and managed to whisper,

"Mum? Dad? What happened? How did I get back here?" And suddenly the memories of Ron, and the lightning hit her like a train. "Oh no, where's Ron? What happened after the lightning hit? Is Harry okay? I don't remember what happened after we were str-" She was cut off as her tone was rapidly reaching hysteria and she tried to sit up on the couch her father had put her on.

Mrs. Granger looked worryingly at Hermione. "Are… are you alright dear? You haven't gone back to your school yet, it's only August right now, remember?" Hermione turned wide-eyed towards her mother.

"August?? But… are you positive Mum? I could have sworn… I…" She trailed off, her mind working a mile a minute. Mr. Granger was beginning to look extremely concerned.

"Hermione, who are Ron and Harry? Didn't you say Ron Weasley was that boy who asked you out to the dance that year during the err… Three-wizard Tournament? And you've never mentioned a 'Harry' before…" Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. Her parents didn't remember Ron and Harry? She knew that she and Ron and been struck by the lightning for sure, and if so, why did Hogwarts send her back here? Couldn't Madame Pomphrey heal her much easily than muggle doctors? But they did say it was August… but then…What was going on here?

Hermione took a deep breath under her parents' anxious expressions and asked calmly as possible, "How old am I right now?" The only rational explanation was that she had been out for a year but... hadn't her father just said he found her lying in the living room?

Mrs. Granger was really worried now as she was shooting panicked looks at her husband. "Hermione sweetie, you're sixteen this year, going to your sixth year at Hogwarts… you remember Hogwarts don't you?"

Hermione froze. There was only one logical conclusion left. She couldn't have traveled_ back_ in time because she was sure she talked endlessly about Harry and Ron so her parents couldn't have just forgotten them. Secondly, she had never told her parents Ron had asked her to the Yule Ball, so that was wrong too.

Could she really have, because of that bolt of lightning, been transported to…?

* * *

A/N I'm sure the first chapter was pretty confusing but fear not! It is suppose to be that way. 

In this chapter I hopefully conveyed the time switches clearly enough. Basically in the first chapter Ron, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus were struck by lightning _seven_ years later. But the beginning is depicting events _seven _years before they were struck.

So in chapter two it begins by chronicling André's adoption into the de Medici and Ishtar family. By this point, André's original identity is just about one hundred percent confirmed.

Before it switches to Hermione, when André and Lan are talking, this takes place a short time after Ron, Hermione, Sirius, and Remus were struck by lightning. That means that just when Lan is telling André about the letter, at the same time Hermione is waking up in the living room of her house. And so, now everyone is at the **same time frame** aside from the occasional flashback.

I hope this clarified things for people.

Next chapter will cover what happened to Ron, Sirius, and Remus for sure, and maybe their meeting with the Potters and the letter Michaël received.

And thanks so much to Caliko and Sylkie your review were awesome and really brightened my prospect of this story.

As usual, please please review?

-Thanks!

* * *


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